Two-sided pocket for reversible garment

ABSTRACT

A reversible garment is provided with a two-sided pocket comprising a main piece with an access opening, a pocket piece with an access opening that is aligned with the access opening of the main piece, and a lining piece between the main piece and the pocket piece, and having an edge present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece. Stitching around the edge of the pocket piece couples the pocket piece to the lining piece and the main piece. This two-sided has less bulk and more flexibility than the conventional method of attaching mirror patch pockets to either side of a reversible garment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to clothing, and more particularly, is directed to a reversible garment having a two-sided pocket.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,296, having a common inventor herewith, describes a reversible denim jacket and pants. The pants have patch pockets on the outside left and right hip fronts and on the outside left and right hip rears. Since the pants are reversible, similar patch pockets are on the inside left and right hip fronts, and the inside left and right hip rears. The jacket has patch pockets on the outside left and right chest fronts, and the inside left and right chest fronts.

A problem with the conventional method of attaching mirror patch pockets to the outside and inside of a garment is that the layers of fabric result in bulkiness and stiffness, interfering with the fabric's draping on the body and presenting an unattractive appearance.

FIG. 1A shows a patch pocket attached to a garment. FIG. 1B shows a cross section of the patch pocket of FIG. 1A along view line 1 of FIG. 1A, which is a chain-dot line showing where the cross-section of FIG. 1B is taken.

The cross section of FIG. 1B is taken at the edge of the patch pocket, where the fabric is folded to protect and hide the raw edge of the fabric. Accordingly, there are five layers of fabric at the cross section: two layers from the pocket on the first side of the reversible garment, one layer from the main piece of the garment, and two layers from the pocket on the second side of the reversible garment. These five layers, as well as the two folds at the edge of the pocket, create the undesired bulkiness and stiffness.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method of constructing a patch pocket on a reversible garment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of this invention, there is provided a reversible garment with a two-sided pocket, comprising a main piece with an access opening, a pocket piece with an access opening that is aligned with the access opening of the main piece, and a lining piece between the main piece and the pocket piece, and having an edge present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.

The reversible garment may further comprise a subsidiary piece coupled to the main piece and to the edge of the lining piece that is present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.

In accordance with another aspect of this invention, there is provided a two-sided pocket, comprising a main piece with an access opening, a pocket piece with an access opening that is aligned with the access opening of the main piece, and a lining piece between the main piece and the pocket piece, and having an edge present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.

In accordance with a further aspect of this invention there is provided a method of making a reversible garment, comprising forming an access opening in each of a pocket piece and a main piece, aligning the access openings of the pocket piece and the main piece, placing a lining piece between the aligned access openings of the pocket piece and the main piece, and coupling the main piece, the pocket piece and the lining piece.

It is not intended that the invention be summarized here in its entirety. Rather, further features, aspects and advantages of the invention are set forth in or are apparent from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1B are diagrams of a conventional reversible patch pocket;

FIGS. 2A-2D are diagrams showing the pieces used in making a pocket according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3B are diagrams showing access openings in main piece 20 and pocket piece 30;

FIGS. 4A-4B are diagrams showing how to attach lining piece 40 to pocket piece 30;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 attached to main piece 20;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a French seam between yoke piece 10 and main piece 20; and

FIGS. 7A-7C are diagrams showing a garment with a two-sided pocket according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A reversible garment is provided with a two-sided pocket comprising a main piece with an access opening, a pocket piece with an access opening that is aligned with the access opening of the main piece, and a lining piece between the main piece and the pocket piece, and having an edge present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece. Stitching around the edge of the pocket piece couples the pocket piece to the lining piece and the main piece. This two-sided has less bulk and more flexibility than the conventional method of attaching mirror patch pockets to either side of a reversible garment.

FIGS. 2A-2D are diagrams respectively showing yoke piece 10, main piece 20, pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40. Yoke piece 10 may be referred to as subsidiary piece 10. Although pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 are seen to be U-shaped, in other embodiments they may be rectangular or another suitable form. As used herein, the U-shaped portion of pocket piece 30 is considered one edge.

FIGS. 3A-3B are diagrams showing access openings in main piece 20 and pocket piece 30.

As shown in FIG. 3A, cuts are made in main piece 20 along an edge and then a flap of fabric is folded back. The edge of the flap is folded under to enclose the raw edge of the fabric. The folded fabric is stitched parallel to the edge of main piece 20 to form lip 21. Although two rows of stitching are shown in FIG. 3A for strength and to match the ornamental appearance of the other visible stitching (discussed below), in some case, one line of stitching is sufficient. The cuts form edges 22 and 23 and access opening 24.

FIG. 3B shows a similar procedure applied to pocket piece 30, to create lip 31, edges 32, 33, and access opening 34.

FIGS. 4A-4B are diagrams showing how to attach lining piece 40 to pocket piece 30.

As shown in FIG. 4A, lining piece 40 is placed on top of pocket piece 30 so that the straight edges align. It will be appreciate that the straight edge of pocket piece 30 has access opening 31, occluded by lining piece 40.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the edges along the U-shaped portion of pocket piece 30 are folded under so that pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 have the same footprint.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 attached to main piece 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, the assembly of pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 is placed on main piece 20 so that access openings 24 and 34 are aligned, while lining piece 40 is between pocket piece 30 and main piece 20. The U-shaped edges of the assembly of pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 are stitched to main piece 20. Although two rows of stitching are shown in FIG. 3A for strength and to match the ornamental appearance of the other visible stitching, in some case, one line of stitching is sufficient.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a French seam between yoke piece 10 and main piece 20. Specifically, the raw edges of each garment piece are turned under, and then the folded edges of the pieces are placed so that they encase the raw edges when stitched. Stitching is done close to each folded edge, resulting in two lines of parallel stitching, which have an ornamental appearance as well as a functional purpose. Usually, the stitching is in a contrast color. In some cases, one or both of the stitching lines may be in the same color as the garment piece, so that the stitching is less noticeable.

FIGS. 7A-7C are diagrams showing a garment with a two-sided pocket according to the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show both sides of the garment after main piece 20 and yoke piece 10 are coupled using a French seam. As shown in FIG. 7A, lines of stitching are placed along edges 32 and 33, respectively, to serve as bar tacks for the edges of the access openings in main piece 20 and pocket piece 30. In the embodiment shown, edges 32 and 33 are cut edges of fabric. However, in other embodiments, the cut edges may be finished with whip stitching, or other form of stitching, encased within a seam tape, or turned under to hide the cut edges.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the assembly of pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 is visible on one side, and appears to be a conventional patch pocket. As shown in FIG. 7B, on the other side of main piece 20, the stitching lines around the U-shaped portion of the pocket indicate the presence of a pocket. Although not so apparent from FIG. 7B, the bulk from the assembly of pocket piece 30 and lining piece 40 further contributes to the illusion of a conventional patch pocket on this other side of main piece 20.

It will be appreciate that, due to the French seam, the folded edge of main piece 20 is on top of the French seam stitching lines on one side, while on the other side the folded edge of yoke piece 10 is below the French seam stitching lines.

In one embodiment, the same fabric is used for the pieces, and the fabric is non-uniform, that is, has a front side and a back side that differ. For example, denim has a “right” side and a “wrong” side. Sometimes, two colors of fabric are fused together to create a fabric with different colored sides, e.g., yellow on one side and blue on the other side. When non-uniform fabric is used, it may be configured so that the same colors are visible in FIG. 7A, and the other colors are visible in FIG. 7B. Alternatively, the fabric may be positioned so that contrast is visible, for example, lining piece 40 may be reversed to create a bit of contrast color at the opening on each side of the two-sided pocket.

FIG. 7C shows a cross section of the two-sided pocket of FIGS. 7A-7B along view line 50 of FIG. 7B, which is a chain-dot line showing where the cross-section of FIG. 7C is taken.

The cross section of FIG. 7C is taken at the edge of the two-sided pocket. There are four layers of fabric at the cross section: two layers from pocket piece 30, one layer from main piece 20, and one layer from lining piece 40. These four layers, as well as the one folds at the edge of pocket piece 30, are less bulky and less stiff than the conventional patch pocket arrangement for a reversible garment.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications thereof, have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise embodiment and the described modifications, and that various changes and further modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 

1. A reversible garment with a two-sided pocket, comprising: a main piece with an access opening, a pocket piece with an access opening that is aligned with the access opening of the main piece, and a lining piece between the main piece and the pocket piece, and having an edge present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.
 2. The reversible garment of claim 1, further comprising a subsidiary piece coupled to the main piece and to the edge of the lining piece that is present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.
 3. The reversible garment of claim 1, wherein the pocket piece has at least two edges, and the access opening of the pocket piece is along one of its edges, and further comprising at least one row of stitching around the at least one other edge of the pocket piece.
 4. A two-sided pocket, comprising: a main piece with an access opening, a pocket piece with an access opening that is aligned with the access opening of the main piece, and a lining piece between the main piece and the pocket piece, and having an edge present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.
 5. The two-sided pocket of claim 4, further comprising a subsidiary piece coupled to the main piece and to the edge of the lining piece that is present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.
 6. The two-sided pocket of claim 4, wherein the pocket piece has at least two edges, and the access opening of the pocket piece is along one of its edges, and further comprising at least one row of stitching around the at least one other edge of the pocket piece.
 7. A method of making a reversible garment, comprising: forming an access opening in each of a pocket piece and a main piece, aligning the access openings of the pocket piece and the main piece, placing a lining piece between the aligned access openings of the pocket piece and the main piece, and coupling the main piece, the pocket piece and the lining piece.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising coupling a subsidiary piece to the main piece and to the edge of the lining piece that is present in the access openings of the main piece and the pocket piece.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the coupling comprises at least one line of stitching. 